NDC Flagbarership: 'Mahama will be the top dog in the race' – Political Scientist

Former President, John Mahama will be the force to reckon with if he decides to vie for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Flagbarership, Evans Aggrey-Darko, a senior lecturer at the Political Science department of University of Ghana has said.

His comments were in reaction to Member of Parliament for Cape Coast South, Kwaku Ricketts-Hagan’s declaration that he intends to contest the Flagbarership of the NDC when nominations open.

Mr. Ricketts Hagan told Joy News that, he didn’t take the decision without deep consideration; he had thought about it "for over a year".

“I have analyzed why we lost the elections and made other considerations before declaring my intentions”, he said.

Responding to whether or not Mr. Ricketts Hagan stands a chance if he contests, Dr. Aggrey-Darko told Joy News TV’s News Desk programme that the former Deputy Finance Minister may be preparing a way for himself for future appointments.

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“…it’s not always that you desire to win when you enter a contest, sometimes even though you do not win, you put yourself very close to the centre of decision making” he stated.

“It’s also important that you make yourself a viable candidate for a possible appointment if someone else wins the Flagbarership. I believe that is the strategy that some of these key actors are using”, he added.

He added that the losers will get some appointments when the party recaptures power depending on how they conduct themselves during the primaries.

Dr. Aggrey-Darko also believes “Mahama will be the top dog in the race if he decides to contest”.

“He has served as a Vice-President for four years and served as president for four years so he has built enough political capital within the party to trump all other contenders” he stated.

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Dr. Aggrey-Darko also believes the fact that John Mahama led the party into opposition will not necessarily work against him since other factors like some bigwigs hoarding resources meant for campaign all contributed to the loss of the NDC.

He, however, added that leadership is a salient factor and therefore Mr. Mahama couldn’t absolve himself of blame for the loss.

Meanwhile, other party functionaries including Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin, former Vice Chancellor of University of Professional Studies (UPS), Joshua Alabi and former Trades Minister, Ekwow Spio-Garbrah have declared an interest to run for the slot.